This invention concerns a loading and compacting device for the trash container of a trash-collecting vehicle, which has an opening in back for filling and a plate for emptying that moves longitudinally in the trash container, against which trash that is put in is compacted, with a hinged back part that can swivel on the trash container that is designed as a loading bin on the bottom part, with a press plate mounted on its upper end on an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in the back part in a swivel bearing that can move parallel to the plane of the fill opening, with a cleaning plate that is also coupled to the free end of the press plate and can swivel in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a first force element to swivel the press plate.
This invention also concerns a working method for a back-loading and compacting device for the trash container of a trash-collecting vehicle, which has a back part designed as a loading bin on the lower part, and has a plate mechanism comprised of a press plate and a cleaning plate, wherein the press plate is mounted on its upper end on an axis that is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle so it can swivel in a swivel bearing parallel to the plane of a fill opening, and the cleaning plate is also coupled on an axis running transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle so it can swivel on the free end of the press plate; it has a first force element to swivel the press plate, a second force element to move the swivel bearing and a third force element to swivel the cleaning plate relative to the press plate; and in the starting position of the working method, the swivel bearing of the plate mechanism is in the upper end position, the plates are extended or almost extended to one another, and the press plate is swiveled all the way up.
These types of loading and compacting devices are known and are used to convey and compress trash emptied into the loading bin in the trash container. Two plate apparatus are known in the general state of the art as loading and compacting devices; they have a guide or carrier plate and a press and cleaning plate hinged to it, and the guide plate can move exclusively in a linear direction. For this known loading and compacting device to be able to perform its function, the guide plate is moved from the upper end position, with the press and cleaning plate open, across and down in the direction of the loading bin, so the press and cleaning plate for cleaning out the loading bin is then swiveled in the direction of the fill opening of the trash container and in that position is moved up at an angle along with the guide plate. One disadvantage of this design is that because of the direction of movement of the two-plate mechanism, the loading and compacting are not horizontal to the longitudinal direction of the trash container. Another is that the cycle volume for effective loading and compacting performance, which means the volume moved by the loading and compacting device in one work phase, is limited by the swivel radius of the press and cleaning plate and the path of the guide plate. Another disadvantage of this known loading and compacting device is that there are very high stresses on the roof part of the trash container due to the direction of the compacting force.
In another embodiment of a loading and compacting device in the general state of the art, the carrier plate is an integral part of a four-bar mechanism and is designed as a coupling element. The type of construction and layout of the four-bar mechanism here also allows only an approximately linear angular upward movement and a slight movement of the carrier plate in the horizontal direction. This known loading and compacting device is not very different from the other embodiment just described.
Finally, a loading and compacting device is known from the general state of the art that is composed of a single plate hinged to a swivel frame which first cleans out the loading bin when the swivel frame is lowered and then when the swivel frame is raised conveys the trash into the trash container and compacts it. The disadvantage of this embodiment is that the plate cannot extend over the entire width of the back part, since there must be enough room for the swivel frame on the side.
A loading and compacting device is known from EP 0 149 436 A1 which is comprised of only one plate, which performs the cleaning and compacting function. One end of this plate is connected to a coupler attached so it is hinged in place in back. A hydraulic cylinder drives the coupler on a circular path and allows the position of the swivel point of the cleaning and press plate to change on the circular path. Another hydraulic cylinder is coupled to the cleaning and press plate and allows them to swivel around the point of rotation provided by the corresponding couple setting. The design of the compacting unit as an seamless plate and the plate kinematics provided by the spatial layout and dimensional design of the coupler element and hydraulic cylinder give the trash-collecting vehicle a relatively small loading-cycle volume and thus a low load capacity.
A loading and compacting vehicle is also known from EP 0 691 289 A1 which is composed of a carrier plate and a cleaning plate connected to it that is hinged on the bottom end. The carrier plate is mounted on slanted runners in back so it can move linearly on one end, and there is a connecting point for a coupler coaxial to the turning point of the cleaning plate that is connected on the back at its other hinge point. For the loading process, the carrier plate is moved by a hydraulic cylinder on the runners, while it simultaneously makes a slight swivel movement provided by the coupler. The actual loading and compacting process is basically carried out only by the cleaning plate. The loading action is not significantly different from the embodiments described at the beginning with a linear carrier plate, since there is a quasilinear movement and the trash is conveyed and compacted up at an angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,192 discloses, for example in FIG. 3, a loading and compacting device for the trash container of a trash-collecting vehicle, which has a rear fill opening and an emptying plate that moves longitudinally in the trash container, against which the filled trash is compacted. The back part is mounted so it can swivel on the back of the trash container and is designed as a loading bin in the lower area. A press plate is also provided, which is mounted in a swivel bearing on an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle that can swivel on the back part, and a first force element to swivel the press plate. The swivel bearing of the press plate is arranged so it can move on the back part, and the first force element grasps onto the side of the press plate on the side away from the fill opening and on the end of the back part in the roof area. In any case, the press plate here is designed to be one-piece with a top part and a bottom part, which form an angle of roughly 140xc2x0 with one another.
Finally, DE-OS 24 44 771 discloses a loading and compacting device for the trash container of a trash-collecting vehicle with the features mentioned above. In one example of embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a force element (339) is provided to swivel the press plate (315).
All the loading and compacting devices mentioned above have the common disadvantage that the positions of the elements that are active during the work cycles, namely the press plate and the cleaning plate, if there are any, remain unchanged to one another during work phase II, the compacting phase. If there is only one active element (as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,192), it is L-shaped, so that both cleaning and compacting are possible. But in both configurations, the active areas of the plate mechanism facing the fill opening of the trash container form a more or less obtuse angle during the entire compacting phase, which is a disadvantage that results in the fact that the volume created by the obtuse angle between the plate mechanism and the trash container cannot be used for the compacting process.
The problem of this invention is to improve a loading and compacting device of the type mentioned at the beginning and a working method for it in a way that guarantees a large loading volume per work phase, optimal loading, high compacting of the trash and thereby less stress on the trash-container structure.
This problem is solved by the invention with a loading and compacting device with the features mentioned in the beginning, so that the first force element is mounted on the side of the press plate away from the fill opening and on the end of the back part in the roof area; and the press plate and the cleaning plate positioned with it, when they are in the press position, take a position parallel to or in the plane of the fill opening; and the cleaning plate, in the press position, when the fill opening is closed by the press plate and the cleaning plate, forms an angle xcex1 of 180xc2x0 or approximately 180xc2x0 with the press plate.
This problem is also solved with a working method of the type mentioned at the beginning with the following steps:
a) in phase I, the plate mechanism is in the fill position, in which the swivel bearing of the press plate is moved down; b) in phase II, the press plate is moved part way down and the cleaning plate is swiveled relative to the press plate in the direction of the fill opening of the trash container, until the lower edge of the cleaning plate lies roughly in the plane of movement of the press plate swivel bearing, and c) in phase III, compacting takes place by an overlapping movement of the press plate and the cleaning plate, by moving the press plate swivel bearing up and hence the press plate and at the same time swiveling the press plate and the cleaning plate in the direction of the fill opening until the plates are extended or almost extended to one another in the plane of movement of the press plate swivel bearing.
The solutions in the invention have one decisive advantage: since phase II, namely the compacting phase, is comprised of an overlapping movement of both active plate elements involved, when the press plate is moved up and swiveled, at the same time, the position of the cleaning plate changes in relation to the press plate in such a way that the volume between the plates and the trash container approaches zero, namely when the cleaning plate and the press plate both form one plane and are parallel to the fill opening of the trash container. This overlapping movement clearly improves the compacting of the trash in the trash container. The important thing here is that the press plate and the cleaning plate positioned with it in the press position take a position parallel to or in the plane of the fill opening of the trash container.
Advantageous variations of the invention are given in the dependent claims.
Preferably, a pair of runner running parallel to the direction in which the fill opening runs are attached on the back part, where the swivel bearing of the press plate is mounted, so it can move. These runners allow especially maintenance-free, trouble-free operation of the loading and compacting device, compared to a spindle guide or the like.
To position the swivel bearing of the press plate in the back part, a pair of two force elements is preferably connected on one side to the back part and on the other side to the press plate. The part of the pair of two force elements connected to the press plate grasps the axis of the swivel bearing here, and its directions of force correspond approximately to the longitudinal direction of the pair of runners. The positioning cylinders are thus mounted on the outside walls of the back part and do not come in contact with the trash being loaded.
The cleaning plate hinged to the press plate is swiveled by means of a third force element, depending on the position of the press plate, and cleans the loading bin with its swivel movement in the direction of the fill opening of the trash container. This third force element can, of course, also be arranged in pairs symmetrically on the side facing away from the trash.
One advantageous variation of the method consists of the fact that the piston/cylinder position of the first force element does not change during phase III. It can be seen here that the movement completed by the press plate during the loading cycle could be performed, besides the possibility described, by means of two pairs of force elements (a first force element and a second force element, in pairs) also by means of a combination of a pair of force elements and a coupler.
Finally, it is definitely clear to a person skilled in the art that the processes of movement in the individual phases of the loading cycle are carried out with the corresponding control.